It's also the the day after the night before for some, and hence often quieter first thing in the morning (as was the case again this year).
For some reason, all of the sessions that I had originally planned to attend, and already had in my calendar, I had been unregistered from and several I couldn't get back into. I did manage to squeeze into a session about the inner workings of EVO:RAIL (SDDC1337 - Technical Deep Dive on EVO:RAIL) that provided some useful background for me. I like the idea of where VMware (and their hardware partners) are going with it (there are definite pluses), but the current 16 host limit per vCenter and allegedly higher cost per appliance compared to other converged hardware offerings might be off-putting to … [Read more...]

As always, the highlight of any VMworld for me is the interaction with other attendees. Meeting new people, discussing technology and ideas with old friends and new is what makes it great for me.
Also great was that over €143,000 will be donated to charities by VMware as a result of people participating in vGiveback.
Once again, the VMware events team have done a great job and I thank them.
VMworld 2015 Dates
VMworld US 2015 starts on August 30th (Partner Day) in San Francisco and runs until September 3rd.
VMworld Europe 2015 starts on October 12th (Partner Day) in Barcelona and runs until October 15th.
See you next year?
A lot can happen in the 9 months or so until booking for 2015 really gets going. I hope to be … [Read more...]

Day 2 can often get off to a sluggish start for many. Either from hitting the parties too hard the night before, or misjudging the time required to get into the conference centre, there were still quite a few people arriving after Wednesday's keynote session had started.
Keynote
The keynote on a Wednesday is usually used to take a closer look at some of the new and forthcoming changes in VMware's products and this year was no exception. Naturally, vRealize Operations got some attention, but so did CodeStream - VMware's forthcoming DevOps integration with vRealize Automation. I'm not an application developer myself but it would be interesting to see that in action with real developers using it. If you missed the keynote or are curious … [Read more...]

Tuesday in Barcelona is when things really get going. First up on everyone's schedule is the VMworld keynote. This is one of times when attendees get to hear from Pat Gelsinger (VMware's CEO) and a number of other presenters and get an overview of the direction in which VMware are going. It's also when the major product announcements are officially made.
Historically, VMworld Europe is usually the time when management product updates are announced (with some of the more infrastructure based updates happening at the US conference). It's been slightly different this year I suppose since there was no major update to the core vSphere platform, but there was EVO:RAIL.
During the keynote, announcements were made about:
vRealize … [Read more...]

VMworld Partner Day - I guess you could call it VMworld Day 0, or the "quiet before the storm". That's not to say that it's an easy day mind you.
Partner day for me is all about networking. Not the NSX / Cisco variety, but talking with and meeting people. From former colleagues and VMware community members and VMware staff, all the way through to existing and potential partners for my employer, Xtravirt. It's safe to say that I had some very good conversations.
Monday evening was split between two networking events. The first was hosted by TD Azlan at the W hotel and attended by a number of VMware, Atlantis and Nutanix partners. It was a good opportunity to have some quieter conversations away from the hubbub of of the Fira … [Read more...]

So, vCAC 6.1 was finally announced at VMworld US in August and went GA in early September. Included in that release were some much needed bug fixes and enhancements in a number of key areas:
New consumer API
Improved partner support with vCO
Enhanced integrations with vCloud Suite (specifically ITBM)
NSX integration
Enhanced Puppet integration
Localised Consumer Interface in 12 languages (but crucially not British English!)
Bulk import tool
User interface configuration
Enhanced HA deployment
Today at VMworld Europe, VMware have announced that vRealize Automation 6.2 is coming (hopefully in Q4 this year). Besides the obvious name change of the product, this version, coming hot on the heels of 6.1, is intended as a … [Read more...]

Today at VMworld Europe, VMware have officially unveiled vRealize Operations 6.0.
This rebranding of the vCenter Operations Management Suite not only re-positions the product but it also introduces some much needed enhancements and features. Key amongst those are:
New Deployment Model
vCOps instances were not very scalable in the past. Once you reached a certain level, you'd be forced to deploy another one i.e. another "Analytics VM" and another "UI VM". Scaling was achieved purely through the manipulation of hardware resources for the VMs.
With vRealize Ops 6.0, the analytics and UI components are combined in a single appliance (or apparently a Linux / Windows installer) that can easily be scaled by introduced another instance … [Read more...]

The third annual vRockstar party kicked off proceedings for many in Barcelona last night. Once again the Hard Rock Cafe played host to a cluster of geeks prior to VMworld's Partner Day. Thanks to the sponsors below, a great time was had by all.
I got to meet quite a few new people from the VMware community who've I've followed on Twitter or the VMware forums as well as catching up with quite a few people who I already know quite well.
Here's a few photos from the evening. … [Read more...]

It's October now and it means that VMworld Europe 2014 is right around the corner.
I'll be attending in Barcelona for what will be my 4th VMworld. It will be the first time that I've ever attended under a full conference pass rather than just as a blogger. However, I don't expect the experience to be hugely different. Perhaps in the general sessions the view will be slightly different but that's about it.
My employer, Xtravirt, is sending a number of my colleagues along with me to VMworld this year. Whilst we're all very different people working on different projects, we generally have fairly complementary skillsets and a passion for what we do.
Speaking just for myself, I'm really looking forward to VMworld. Like my children's … [Read more...]

VMworld Europe 2014 gets under way two weeks from today. There are a large number of excellent sessions available to schedule but if you either didn't get yours selected, didn't submit one but wish you had or just have something that you want to share with VMware users and the community in general then there is another way.
Every year at VMworld (both US and EMEA), the vBrownbag crew organise a series of TechTalks aimed at giving anybody who wants to, a chance to present for 10 minutes on the topic of their choice (except for direct product pitches).
The schedule has still to be decided but there are open slots available. So, if you have something that you want to share, use the sign up form … [Read more...]